New York Lawyer
November 19, 2002

Q:
I'm in the seventh grade and when I grow up I want to be a lawyer. What will I have to go through?

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A:

This question was sent in by a young friend, Tee, who probably falls outside the usual audience for this column. So why am I answering him? Because of the number of times I have heard the phrase, "Ever since I was child, I have wanted to be a lawyer." This is usually said with a tone that suggests the statement should be accorded enormous weight because it reflects the kind of laser-like focus I'm always preaching about.

With no disrespect intended, it doesn't do that. The career dreams of a twelve-year old have the judgment and maturity of the career dreams of a twelve year old. They are not based on personal experience or broad perspective. They are mythological, stereotypic, unrealistic. This is not to say the child's goal of going to law school lacks sincerity or zeal. It may indeed shine bright as a burning beacon through high school, four years of college, a brief hiatus in the real world (I always recommend that: don't go directly to law school from college) and then three years of law school, the expenditure of over $100,000 and the grind of a bar exam.

But just because the goal burns bright does not mean in burns true. Or, as one wag put it, what if the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train?

Over the last 30 years, I have probably asked thousands of people this question: "Why did you go to law school, anyway?"

Somewhat to my surprise (because I expected scores of different "motivational maps"), I have heard four dominant themes over and again:

1) "I went to law school in order to learn the skills needed to do X." X could be anything from righting social wrongs to making a lot of money to filling out tax forms. But the point of this motivational "driver" is that the person wants to acquire the expertise needed to perform powerfully as an individual. I call this the "Individual Contributor" mentality. It's driven strongly by an underlying need for personal achievement and being respected for one's skills. The 30 percent or so whose answer fell into this category seem to be pretty autonomous: "I am what I do."

2) "I went to law school because I wanted TO BE a lawyer." The is the Status or "Derived-identity" Mentality. Often the 25% who said this (and the percentage in this category is declining in today's dog-eat-dog environment) didn't specify -- or didn't know -- what kind of lawyer they wanted to be. They simply wanted the stability, security and prestige that comes with being in the profession, from getting safely in the Club. They tend to be less concerned with what they do than with where they are. They tend to be more collegial, less competitive, less oriented toward litigation and more toward the various forms of "win-win" legal practice.

3) "I went to law school because ... law is nteresting. It's intellectually stimulating. It's the system we've devised to order our relationships. It's history. It's normative sociology." The 5% or so who answer this way may make wonderful appellate judges and law professors, but experience shows that they blow out of law firm practice like rockets. Because law is repetitive and detail-oriented and banal and often ignoble. The intellectual fringe loves puzzle-solving and mental stimulation. They're inventive, conceptual, philosophical. The see law as a noble calling. They switch jobs a lot, looking for intellectual challenge that is seldom there.

4) Everyone else gave a default answer: "My dad was a lawyer." "I once saw Johnnie Cochran try a case, and from that day on...." "They said it would never hurt me (hah!)" "The LSATs said I might be good at this." "It seemed like the thing to do at the time." Given the enormous costs of a legal education these days, I simply cannot recommend law study as an extension of a liberal arts education. Sure, you can learn spiffy analytical and communication skills in law school, but I can't recommend attending for that reason alone. It's like ordering the T-bone steak so you can munch on the parsley that comes on the side.

I am not suggesting that everyone who thinks about attending law school must know, a priori, exactly how they're going to use that legal education�but as a career consultant, I'm heading in that direction. This is a decision that should be reality-based. Law school is a technical school. It's a place where specialists go to learn their specialty -- whether it be to argue, to negotiate, to persuade, to analyze, to reduce risk, to render counsel. Very few players in Major League Baseball said to themselves, "I just want to be in the game, I don't care what position or what my aptitudes are, I just wanna play."

At the risk of being over-directive, let me say that everyone who goes to law school should be able to articulate -- to themselves and to the great generalized other -- what they hope to get out of it. Is it to DO something? If so, what sort or something? Is it to BE something? If so, what identity is most desirable? Is it to derive some sort of motivational or value satisfaction? Okay, what values are important enough to pay the huge dues law school exacts?

"The Law" is not a place, not a country, not even a discipline. It's a bucket into which are dumped hundreds of unbelievably diverse roles, settings, tasks, relationships, satisfactions ... and pains. Before you sign up for the LSAT's (and Tee, you have a lot of time before you have to do this), for heaven's sake, talk to a variety of lawyers "out there." Folks in firms, big ones and small ones. Folks on the defense side ... or on the plaintiff's side. Folks who draft legislation, copyedit federal regulations or write 150-page government contracts. Passionate advocates. Shameless bullshitters. Appellate lawyers. Tax lawyers. Detail people, idea people, people people. Altruists and self-centered income maximizers. Conventional thinkers and out-of-boxers. Leaders and followers.

See what they do. See what they like. See what they hate. Then ask, "Do I really want to do this?" If the answer comes back "YES," then you'll be better prepared for both the costs law exacts -- and the many benefits it can provide to the focused and the motivated.

Sincerely,
Douglas B. Richardson
President, The Richardson Group